


First Assignment

by Ulalume



Series: Sniper Agent [1]
Category: Star Wars: The Old Republic
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-20
Updated: 2013-05-20
Packaged: 2017-12-12 10:23:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/810496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ulalume/pseuds/Ulalume
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>New Female Imperial Agent on her first covert assignment.</p>
            </blockquote>





	First Assignment

**Author's Note:**

> Originally published to tumblr on August 16, 2012
> 
> Written as a response to SWTORWrites - Prompt 1: Teacher.

The agent had been waiting for instructions for weeks, living out of a small flat on the edge of town. Intelligence had placed the target in the area and sent her to take care of it. She wasn’t given an identity, nor why the target was a threat to some Sith Lord, somewhere. It wasn’t her place to ask, and she didn’t waste any time wondering. She had been taught to use her curiosity as a tool, part of her arsenal. Her instructor at the academy had drilled it into them. Curiosity, anger, desire, ambition, emotion — use it, then flip it off like a switch.

What she had trouble with was the boredom. Staying still for too long made her nervous. She had steadily made her way through the titles she’d brought, played endless games of solitaire, and disassembled and reassembled her firearms countless times. This was her first solo assignment — her test — and she was determined not to fail.

So here she sat, for the first time in years, at the water’s edge. Fishing, or pretending to fish. She removed her boots, rolled up her trousers, and let her feet and calves dangle in the deep water. This was an ocean planet, teeming with life underwater, quiet on the few land masses above.

Her cover story was that she was researching the symbiotic fish and algae population in the local waters with the hopes of replicating her findings on planets that lacked such an ecosystem. She was pleased that she could slip into this without much effort, as her parents had owned a small aquaculture farm, and had made good on the studies. There were some interesting properties in the local flora and fauna, and she sent samples on to Intelligence’s research division.

She had also managed to have a bit of fun. On her first night in town, the agent accepted an invitation for drinks with the local researchers, and soon formed a bond with another. Despite the true circumstances for her presence in the town, she found herself enjoying the small bit of company and the intimate encounters that developed. She suspected that she let herself enjoy this part specifically because it wouldn’t last long, but she didn’t dwell on the thought. She would be gone soon.

Her datapad blinked steadily, but she ignored it. She would send them an update later. What she wanted right now was to be lulled into a meditative state by the glint of sun on the waves and gentle splashing of the tide against the rocks. She closed her eyes and breathed in the salted water, the dank, sour sea kelp, the sun-warmed stones, and recalled a past that no longer belonged to her.

Her culture had taught her how to accept death as a natural part of life. Everything was born of water and returned to water, the officiant had murmured as her mother’s body slipped gently under the surface forever. But father never made peace with his loss and sought out new friends, alcohol and bitterness, finally following his wife into the waves. 

Giving up on the fishing, she let the pole slip into the water, glittering as it descended into darkness below, and stretched out on the rock, closing her eyes.

“Hey,” her lover’s voice. He was standing over her, silhouetted by the sun behind him. “Sleeping on the job,” he grinned, reaching out a hand to help her stand.

“Hi,” she replied, shading her eyes against the sunlight and smiling up at him before taking his hand. She dusted herself off, then kissed him gently. Breaking away with a touch of sadness, she unhooked her blaster and took the shot. His body slipped over the edge, startled violet eyes and red lekku floating above him as he disappeared from view.

“I never sleep on the job,” she stated, then whispered “We return to the water to begin the new cycle.”

Flip the switch. Break the circuit. On to the next job.


End file.
